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PLATE 115: BUNTINGS II
Grey-necked Bunting Emberiza buchanani V
L: 16. Resembles Cretzschmar’s and Ortolan Buntings in having pink bill and whitish eye-ring. Adult
has grey head, less bright than Cretzschmar’s and lacks grey breast-band; underparts pale
rufous with whitish submoustachial streak and pale yellow-buff or whitish vent and undertail-
coverts. In autumn (fresh plumage) underparts fringed greyish-white; upperparts brownish-grey,
indistinctly streaked, contrasting with chestnut scapulars; tertials have ill-defined dusky-
brown edges without clear-cut notched pattern of Cretzschmar’s and Ortolan. Juvenile from
Cretzschmar’s by brownish-grey, not rufous-tinged rump, paler vent and undertail-coverts; with
much less boldly streaked upperparts, paler flight feathers with ill-defined tertial pattern. Voice
Song rich di-di-dew, de-dew, penultimate note higher pitched and more stressed; delivery fast or
slurred. Flight call tip, tsip or sik; also chep or tcheup. Habitat Barren rocky hillsides and sparsely
vegetated plateaux, mainly above 2,000m. Note Passage hatched; vagrant Kuwait, Oman.Cretzschmar’s Bunting Emberiza caesia V
L: 16.5. Resembles Ortolan Bunting. Male has bright blue-grey head and breast-band framing
rusty-orange throat; rump rufous, vent and undertail-coverts rufous-buff; blackish-brown tertials
have clear-cut rufous notched fringe. Female duller, often with traces of grey on head and some
grey on streaked breast; from female Ortolan by rusty throat (sometimes yellowish-buff) and
warmer rump, vent and undertail-coverts. First-autumn birds resemble Ortolan but yellow-buff
throat often tinged rufous (adult plumage develops quickly). Voice Calls Ortolan-like, but sharper,
blep; metallic tlik or tlev. Habitat On passage in cultivation, semi-desert. Note Passage hatched;
vagrant Iran, Oman, Qatar, Yemen, UAE.Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana PM
L: 16.5. Male told from similar Cretzschmar’s Bunting by olive-grey head and breast-band framing
pale yellowish throat, pink bill, boldly streaked mantle and blackish-brown tertials with clear-cut
light chestnut (adult) or creamy-buff notched edges. Female duller and more streaked; separable
from female Cretzschmar’s by pale yellow-buff throat, brownish, not rufous-tinged, rump and pale
buff vent and undertail-coverts. First-autumn birds more streaked above and on breast than female;
sometimes separable from similar Cretzschmar’s by colour of rump, vent and undertail-coverts.
Migrates in flocks. Voice Call a hollow, soft plet or büb and a slightly falling sliie. Habitat Open
country, bare cultivation with trees and scrub, semi-desert, oases. Note Passage hatched.Cinereous Bunting Emberiza cineracea pm
L: 16.5. Male of eastern subspecies semenowi (Eastern Cinereous Bunting) has yellowish
underparts, including belly and undertail-coverts, upperparts olivey. Olive grey-brown female
has throat yellowish and streaked crown yellowish olive-brown; underparts dusky-streaked on
breast with belly off-white Voice Call short, metallic kjip or djib. Habitat Dry rocky slopes with
sparse vegetation; also semi-deserts or bushy wadis on passage. Note Eastern Cinereous breeds
SE Turkey, Iraq and Iran, and occurs on passage in Arabia, including Oman.Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla pm, wv
L: 13. Small and secretive. Adult told by reddish-chestnut crown, supercilium and ear-coverts,
framed by black lateral crown-stripe and ear-coverts surround narrow whitish eye-ring; white
underparts with narrow black streaks on breast; whitish wing-bars usually obvious. First-autumn
told from Common Reed Bunting by uniform pale rusty cheeks, bill shape (straight culmen),
whitish eye-ring, black malar streak barely reaching bill, grey-brown lesser coverts, better
defined blacker streaks on whiter underparts and call. Separated from Rustic Bunting by absence
of rufous streaks below and grey-brown rump (rusty in Rustic). Voice Call a single, hard, metallic
tik, like Rustic Bunting but slightly sharper. Habitat On passage, in damp bushy and grassy areas.
Note Vagrant to most countries of the Middle East.